Small Love
by TRikiD
Summary: It's love at first sight when Mr. Small falls in love with Penny's older cousin. But he finds out that falling in love is almost as scary as actually falling. Though, in the end, he realizes it's worth it to hit rock bottom.


Small Love

Chapter 1 - It DOES Exist

"Now, are you SURE you'll have everything under control while we're gone, Grace?" Maria Fitzgerald asked for the hundredth time, as she and her husband, Patrick Fitzgerald, had already packed up their things and loaded them into the car for their vacation.

She and Patrick were leaving for a few days to celebrate their thirty second anniversary, but that meant they had to hire a baby sitter, and the only option they had was Penny and Petunia's twenty nine year-old cousin, Grace.

But Grace was not a peanut-shaped, shape-shifting fairy like their family; she was actually a griffon-like creature; she had the head, long and slim body, and back legs of a lion, as those parts were covered in dark brown fur, and she had the mouth, giant wings, and front claws of an eagle, as her feathers were a brighter shade of brown, and her ears were adorable little feathery tufts; she was only five feet tall, and she walked on all fours, and her eyes were sparkling purple orbs.

Though, Grace did have one little similarity with her cousins, and that was the small pair of three-pointed deer antlers on her head.

"Don't worry, Aunt Maria, I've baby sat for you before, and have I ever let you down?" Grace reassured with confidence, "now, go enjoy your anniversary before your reservations expire."

"She's right, Maria! We gotta go if we wanna get the best table and room!" Patrick called from the car in annoyance and even honked the horn.

"Doh…ok, ok! Penny, Petunia, you be good and listen to Grace," Maria demanded as her daughters stood with her niece at the front door, but she instantly gave all three of them kisses on the cheek afterwards before running out to the car.

"Bye! We love you!" Maria called when Patrick back out of the driveway.

"Try not ta burn the house down!" Patrick jokingly shouted before he was out of hearing range.

"We'll try out best!" Grace laughed back with a smirk, and she then closed the door and looked at her twelve year-old and seven year-old cousin, "so, anything new I need to know—other than the fact that someone finally came out of their shell like a brave little girl?"

Grace was referring to the fact that Penny was the first in her family to break out of her peanut-like shell, and her brightly colored, fairy-self was finally revealed.

"Oh, that was pretty recent, actually…a friend of mine helped me to be brave enough," Penny replied with a blush.

"A friend, huh? Would this 'friend' be that cute blue cat boy I've heard so much about?" Grace asked with a grin and leaned her head down to playfully nudge Penny.

"M-maybe…" Penny chuckled cheepishly.

"She TOTALLY has a crush on Gumball," Petunia whispered to Grace.

""Gumball'? Well, that's a name ya don't hear everyday," Grace muttered in realization.

"Oh, you just reminded me! Tonight's Parent-Teacher Conference Night at my school…I guess Mom and Dad forgot during all their planning," Penny pointed out with shock.

"Oh, it's ok. I don't plan ta stay cooped up in this house while I'm here, anyway," Grace protested while her wings fluttered with excitement.

* * *

Mr. Small never had a problem with sitting down with children, teens or adults to talk with them about any problems or interests; that's why he became a school guidance councilor in the first place…he just wished that it wasn't at eight o'clock at night, and that he wasn't so tired.

And he had no help since Miss Simian and Principle Brown were too busy on their date night…more like a poor excuse to skip the conference. So, Mr. Small had to sit at his desk and wait for whomever to come into his office next, as he relied on his coffee to keep him awake.

"Hi, Mr. Small," greeted a soft voice, and Mr. Small slowly blinked his eyes open after nearly falling asleep, and he found Penny Fitzgerald walking in.

"Oh, hello, Penny. Where're your parents?" Mr. Small yawned.

"Oh, they had to leave on short notice…but don't worry, my cousin said she'd fill in for them." And as if on cue, Grace then walked in after Penny finished her sentence. And when Mr. Small saw the beautiful female griffon, it was almost as if he didn't need coffee to keep him awake anymore.

"Good evening, Mr. Small. I'm Grace Fitzgerald," the said griffon happily greeted as she extended a claw to the councilor, who continued to stare at her with wide eyes and silence until he slowly grabbed her claw and shook it.

"Nice to meet you…Penny, you can wait outside, I just need to discuss a few things with Miss Grace," Mr. Small calmly instructed, and Penny nodded and waved at them when she left the room to wait in the hall with Petunia, and Grace closed the door behind her.

"Now, Miss Grace-."

"Oh, no need to be so formal, Mr. Small. 'Grace' is fine," Grace interrupted with a smirk, and she didn't even bother to take a seat in one of the chairs, as she just sat on her haunches in between them.

"R-right, uh…ahem…as far as I know, Penny's doing fine in class, her grades are average, and she gets along well with the other students," Mr. Small began.

"Then this shouldn't take long at all," Grace chuckled while rolling her eyes.

"BUT I should point out that I have noticed her 'slight' change in behavior."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that right after she broke out of her shell, she's been shier than usual, and this, of course, concerns me as the guidance councilor."

"Ok…then, what can _I_ do?"

"Well, this would be better if she had the comfort of her parents, but since you're her legal guardian for now, I suggest taking her out for some fun; eating out at restaurants, playing at the park, or even a nightly stroll down the sidewalk. Anything like that to get outside and socializing, but still keeps her comfortable."

"Hmm…ok, I think I know what to do…but one more question before I go?"

"Fire away."

"There's this Gumball kid here at your school. Does Penny ever hang out with him a lot?" Grace asked in a whisper.

"Oh, yes. In fact, I've heard that they both have a great fondness of each other," Mr. Small replied, also keeping his voice down.

"I knew it…well, I'll be sure to keep your advice in mind, Mr. Small. Have a good night," Grace sighed with a smile, and she got up to turn and leave, but she then stopped in her tracks and looked back at Mr. Small, "by the way, what's your first name? I'd feel awkward calling you 'Mr. Small' if I ran into you in public."

"Oh? I-It's Steve. Steve Small…um, let me get that for you," Mr. Small, or Steve, sheepishly replied while standing up from his office chair, and he went to open the door for Grace like a gentlemen. But Grace could only stare at Steve when she realized how tall he was. Six feet, at least.

"Ya know, when you're THAT tall, it boggles the mind as to why they can call you 'Small'," Grace joked with a smug look, and she playfully brushed the feathery tips of her tail in Small's face, taking him by surprise and making him sneeze.

And with that, the griffon took Penny and a fast asleep Petunia out of the school building, and the girls then left the building. But Steve swore he felt something. Something in his heart, and he was PRETTY sure they were feelings for griffon woman.

"Love at first sight DOES exist," Steve sighed lustfully.

…

"What?" Banana Joe asked, as he and his parents were waiting since they were next for the conference, and Steve only stood there in silence and blushed madly.

* * *

 **I'm not the only Mr. Small fangirl, right?**

 **And yes, Mr. Small's first name is in fact Steve, in case you were wondering.**

 **Sorry for the short chapter. I'll try to make them longer if you guys want.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


End file.
